By Jamie Freed SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia on Wednesday joined a growing list of countries offering financial aid to its ailing aviation sector as global airlines announced deeper capacity cuts due to plummeting demand and stricter border controls associated with the coronavirus. With airlines halting plane deliveries and new orders to conserve cash, Boeing Co (N:) called on the U.S. …

By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK (Reuters) – Applications for unemployment insurance are skyrocketing across the United States. In Ohio, the number tripled from last week through Sunday, up to 12,000, according to the state’s governor. Calls to the Unemployment Law Project of Washington State shot up 150% in the last week, according to executive director John Tirpak. We are only …

By Joshua Franklin (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp (N:) paid a big premium to raise $8.5 billion in new debt on Tuesday, as a rout in energy prices and stock market jitters fueled by the coronavirus outbreak eroded investor confidence in the largest U.S. oil producer. Exxon was among nine major companies that took advantage of a window opening in …

Japan business mood plunges to decade lows on coronavirus woes: Reuters Tankan By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese business confidence plunged to decade lows in March as the spreading coronavirus outbreak stoked fears of a global recession and sent stock markets tumbling, the Reuters Tankan survey showed on Tuesday. The monthly poll suggested that the Bank of Japan’s tankan …

G7 finance leaders to hold conference call Tuesday: Japan finance minister Aso TOKYO (Reuters) – The Group of Seven finance leaders are expected to hold a conference call on Tuesday evening Tokyo time to exchange information on steps to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said. Japan’s government is compiling a package …

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) – Most Asian shares fell on Tuesday a day after Wall Street’s historic market rout, with fleeting initial gains evaporating as the coronavirus remained a major risk to economic growth. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan () gave up early gains to trade 0.43% lower. Japan’s Nikkei stock index () slid 2.79% and …

© Reuters. New Zealand’s corporate world hit by coronavirus outbreak (Reuters) – The fast-spreading coronavirus has shaken the corporate world in New Zealand, with a growing number of companies suspending their earnings outlooks, and others reeling from the economic unknowns facing them. The country’s central bank stunned markets by slashing its official cash rate early on Monday morning. It said …

By Jonnelle Marte and Heather Timmons WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve unleashed new emergency measures on Sunday night to limit the economic harm from the coronavirus, including making it easier for banks to get money and slashing its benchmark borrowing rate to near zero. In a move reminiscent of the extraordinary steps the central bank took in …

© Reuters. JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York By Elizabeth Dilts Marshall NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States’ biggest banks will stop buying back their own shares, and will instead use that capital to lend to individuals and businesses affected by the coronavirus, an industry trade group said on Sunday. The Financial Services Forum said …

BOJ calls emergency policy meeting to stabilize markets By Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan called an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss steps to stabilize markets, hours after unscheduled rate cuts by U.S. and New Zealand central banks, as policymakers ramp up efforts to combat the widening fallout of the coronavirus. The meeting, …